Topics - runtoftheshitter

Some people like to plan everything out before they begin something, whereas others begin with intuition and learn about boundaries as they go along. I've been a fan of bands like Suffocation, Atheist, Napalm Death, early Enthroned, Summoning, and many others for a fair amount of time.

Of course, when you're initially getting into a new type of thing or what have you, there's a tendency to immediately seek out the most significant bands, attitudes, and people. That is, only if you're serious. I think that the majority of the people who listen to extreme bands have a similar story regarding their initial understanding of the music or "what they called it." In other words, some of you probably heard a handful of extreme bands a long time ago, loved them, but only later found out that they were "death metal" bands. Maybe it was "grind" or "hardcore." There's a good chance you called it something that was entirely wrong according to the majority or the more experienced members of the community.

I used to call all this music "hardcore," because that was the most concise definition a 17 year old could come up with. I was thinking about this recently and, although I initially chuckled at my own previous obliviousness, I had to really ask myself what function the divisions between the genre's (specifically hardcore, grindcore, black metal, and death metal) really served when it came to my musical endeavors like trying to write good music in this same vein.

Obviously, when you're just discovering that there's an entirely new dimension of music out there, you want to shoot for the top and learn as much as possible. You have to. Its only natural. That's why I praise this site a lot and don't want this post to seem cynical in the end. Its basically what separates the serious from the flaky: this desire to dig deeper into the art and really grasp it. Then, you can play a role in it, I suppose, but the problem really begins there. We all know what real death and black metal sounds like; that much is clear to people who surf this site due to the very nature of the content here. It goes beyond the surface.

Obviously, this isn't everyone's experience, so i have to ask....what about those who learn about the name "death metal" or "black metal" before they actually have any interaction with the music/ideas and then afterward dub themselves fans? I can see this sort of thing happening a lot now because of the widespread use of the internet and the various wars of terms that occur on forums. As I said before, I used to call all of it "hardcore," but I didn't learn about the division between hardcore and metal until I heard one of the members of a rather energetic local band chastise his lead guitarist for playing "metal." (he was playing Ride the lightning in between their songs during the set).

I don't regret learning about different styles, but I'm beginning to really wonder if these divisions in genres are making musicians lazy and pompous these days.

The main question i want to ask is this: Is metal really stagnant or have fans of quality metal simply refused to change their own personal notions of quality in order to accomodate a completely new approach to music?

Do you think its possible that something much better could be occurring right under our noses and we just fail to see it due to our own rigidity?

...and if so, could you ever see it replacing your favorite genre/band/artist and completely rearranging your ideas on what good art/music really is?

If this is some sort of offshoot of the main site, i retract my statement. Otherwise, i'm happy that others take metal as seriously, but somewhat disgusted by the ripping-off factor.

I'm actually pretty sure that this isnt related to the anus because the little instrospection writings strike me as some sort of twisted blog covered up by poorly arranged sentences and a total copy of anus.com's web design. It looks like a version of this website thats been sabatoged by a bunch of 14 year old emocore fanatics.

I was really happy when i once saw a thread on this board about listening. I think it was titled "How do you listen to metal?" Id dig it back up if i werent a lazy bastard, but ive always thought it was interesting to sit beside other people who call themselves metal fans while listening to Asphx, Atheist, Gorgoroth, and other bands that people say are"love it or hate it music." You really begin to understand that the sound your hearing when you listen to your favorite extreme metal is being processed in a radically different manner in the mind of the person sitting beside you. I only know one person who can sit through an entire Asphyx song, but it seems like every other so-called metal fan doesn't have the attention span to listen to songs from start to finish...even by their favorite bands!! My other friends who listen to black metal, grind, and death have a tendency to switch the track in the middle of a song, right after they've had their "fix" so to speak. Others just listen for two or three months and just immediately drop it for something else.

Why is that i have listened to Suffocation's Pierced from Within or Atheist's Unquestionable Presence for nearly 6 years and they've NEVER GROWN DULL. Sure, some days i've been in the mood to hear other stuff, but these albums including many others haven't left my cd case in almost a decade. Theres no mystery about it to me: its egoistic listening of the masses.

A large number of so-called metal fans and the general public can not understand metal because they can't get past their own egos to allow the music to take them somewhere. The general population/imposter metal fans either listen to metal as background noise while playing d&d or surfing myspace, or have a tendency to decide whether or not a band is good after the first 30 seconds of a song. You'd be hard pressed to find an average person who, upon a first listen of Deicide's Legion, LISTENS to the entire song and does not allow his/her attention to wander from the music to something else (usually meaningless things like a girl with fake tits passing by or a brand new novelty item they'd love to purchase). Where so-called metal fans are concerned, this is always a good indication of who is a poser and who is a genuine fan (maybe i've said this before). These metal fans will be gone when puberty ends.

When i listen to music, i offer myself to it: i do nothing else, expect nothing, and let the music guide my mind however it may. If i am doing some simple task, i dont consider it Listening until i can give my full attention to the music. Metal becomes a part of you when you learn to do this..

Does anyone think that the tape trading syndicate in the late eighties/early nineties was harmful to metal, much like the internet can be nowdays? I sometimes wonder if its in the best interest of good metal bands to refuse making web-sites, avoid myspace, talk to no one except those who are serious/experienced metal fans, sign to a very small indie label (or sign to no label at all), and just avoid anything that may misinterpret the art or make it profitable. Sure, its good to find new, genuine fans, but as we all know, there are more people out there that are willing to exploit the music than become working parts of the whole. I'm mostly talkng about metal musicians since label owners, distros, and magazines are a given. I think that metal musicians should understand that since there is no way to earn a living out of metal, they should not seek to gain approval from large numbers of fans through ANY outlet, but should focus more on the art itself and what it communicates. What do you think?